Disabled American Veterans History
The aftermath of the First World War brought with it a lot of causalities. Majority of them were veterans wit various disabilities and other problems. These veterans who came back home found themselves lost and without any support from the government. They felt shunned, rejected and helpless.
On 1920, Christmas Day, Robert S. Marx, a Judge of Cincinnati Superior Court and a disabled captain himself, came up with the idea of the Disabled American Veterans organization. This saw the birth of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War, which came to known as DAVWW.
Judge Marx was a part of the election campaign for James M. Cox (who was standing for Governor of Ohio) and traveled throughout the United States. This also gave him the chance to utilize his skills of organization and influence to spread the word of the DAVWW and thereby attracting the attention of many high profile people who became corporate sponsors to the program.
Henry Ford was the first corporate sponsor. The first celebrity sponsor was Rudolph Valentino. By the mid- thirties despite the after effects of depression, money to help the disabled veterans started pouring in.
The DAVWW set up its offices in Washington and many medical facilities that cater to the needs of the disabled veterans were established. When the threat of the Second World War came into being, the DAVWW decided to drop down World War reference from the organization's name and resorted to the name of Disabled American Veterans, a name that it holds till date.
During the Second World War, the DAV under the management of two war veterans namely General Melvin J. Maas and General Jonathan Wainwright revolutionized the objectives of the DAV. This brought in more avenues for service, assistance and employment to the veterans. Ever since the revamp of office and inclusion of the strategic plan in the year 1993, the Disabled American Veterans has been functioning very well.
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